


hear those sleigh bells jingling ring ting tingling ho

by Acexual_Attorney



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Snow, Trans Male Character, im sorry if its bad i tried my best, shyansecretsanta2k18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acexual_Attorney/pseuds/Acexual_Attorney
Summary: Ryan and Shane visit the Madej household for Christmas and maybe the cold is a bit too much for Ryan





	hear those sleigh bells jingling ring ting tingling ho

So here’s the thing. Ryan expected a lot when it came to his soulmate. His parents emphasised how much it mattered that his soulmate should take care of him. His abuelos told him that his soulmate should be a fine young fellow, a strong man with a good job that made a lot of money so he could take care of Ryan. His grandparents were thankfully a bit more lenient, simply saying that whoever his soulmate is should make him happy.

 

That was easy for them to say. It should be easy to expect your soulmate to love you unconditionally, but Ryan had a se—

 

Secret was the wrong word. Ryan was very open about his status as a trans man, and he was very proud of his identity! But, sometimes, there are people who may look down on him for having been born with a vagina. Ryan simply frowns at these people and continues with his day. They are not worth his time.

 

It took a bit for his family to get use to calling him by his name, but they thankfully accepted him with open arms.

 

He’s getting off topic. Ryan had a problem with rambling, thoughts goings every which way and stumbling to keep up. It was especially bad when he was scared or excited, but years with fast thoughts means he knows how to cope now. All he has to do is breathe an—

 

Off topic again.

 

_ The point is _ , Ryan has certain expectations for his soulmate. Some person named Shane, a name he is far too familiar with. When he was younger, he would trace the letters on his inner arm when he was nervous and it helped to calm him down. He still did it sometimes when he wasn’t thinking, but Ryan suspects it to be more force of habit than anything else.

 

Ryan expected Shane to be nice. He expects a lot of people to be nice, since he likes to see the better in people, but he expects Shane to be double nice since Ryan likes Nice People. Ryan also expects Shane to accept him as he is (not that it’s that high of an expectation, but an expectation nonetheless). He expects Shane to have a few similar interests, maybe sports or the paranormal.

 

What Ryan doesn’t expect is for Shane to be so… tall. Ryan easily reaches just below Shane’s nose, so it’s no doubt that Shane breaks the 6 foot barrier. It’s intimidating and Ryan barely reached 5’9” and he’s definitely done growing. How the hell is he supposed to be in a long-term committed relationship with this guy if they can’t even hold hands properly.

 

Then again, Ryan was getting ahead of himself. Another bad habit, if you asked anyone that wasn't him.

 

They had met in February in a coffee shop. Cliché, but Ryan still holds it close to his heart. They kept in touch, obviously, and Ryan slowly learned practically everything about Shane, all of which defied his expectations.

 

Besides being tall, Shane had exactly zero interests in sports. He still tried, though, like the sweetheart he is, and still makes awful referenced to basketball when he gets the chance, half the time the references being wrong or severely misplaced.

 

He also was a strict non believer in the paranormal. This little fact lead to many arguments. (“Banter,” Shane helpfully supplied one day. “I don’t like to argue with you, but I like banter.) This was a hiccup in their relationship, if you asked Ryan, because it was infuriating yet endearing that Shane was blind to the possibility, but that can of worms is for another day of reflection.

 

On the hand-holding front, Shane has surprisingly long arms. (“Bigfoot,” Ryan had called him a few weeks into their relationship. “Don’t bring my cousin into this,” Shane replied. Ryan still doesn’t know if he was joking or not.) Long arms meant he was able to reach Ryan’s hand when they were walking. Sure, Ryan had to bend his elbow a bit, but we all make sacrifices for those we love.

 

Other things that defied Ryan’s expectations were things such as: Shane loved to cuddle, and he was practically like a heated blanket when they watched movies together; Shane had an affinity for history, but only history that didn’t matter, like the multiple animals who received medals of honor from the government; Shane is surprisingly fashionable, a stark contrast to Ryan’s twelve football jerseys and five basketball shorts; despite not believing in the paranormal, Shane believed in aliens and sasquatches.

 

What Ryan is trying to get at is that Shane is full of surprises. He is full of jokes and jests and love and surprised and it never tires Ryan to get to know him more. Knowing each other for the past 11 months and living together for the past 3, though, Ryan expected for most of the surprised to be gone by now.

 

Ryan was sorely mistaken.

 

“What do you mean we’re going to Illinois for Christmas?”

 

Shane looked up from his suitcase, raising one eyebrow out of confusion. “Ryan, I’ve told you before I’m from Chicago.”

 

Ryan huffed and rolled his eyes. “ _ I know that _ . You didn’t tell me you were leaving for Christmas, though. I thought it was after Christmas and then we’d be spending New Years with your family.”

 

“Oh, did I not tell you? My parents booked the wrong day for us to leave. We have to leave the 23rd or else we’ll miss our flight. I’m sorry.”

 

Ryan sighed and sat down next to Shane on the floor. He wrapped both arms around Shane’s middle to give him a quick hug, but still left one arm across his back after letting go. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine, we’re just gonna have to visit my parents early.”

 

Shane recuperated the hug and left an arm swung around Ryan’s neck. “Are your parents fine with us swinging by tomorrow or the day after?”

 

“I don’t know, I’d have to ask.”

 

Ryan stood up to get his phone, Shane’s arm falling away and Ryan’s slipping out from under Shane’s. He gave Shane a quick peck on the lips before leaving the room. Almost as an afterthought, a poked his head back into the room to tell Shane, “Pack my bag for me, too. You know I’m bad at trips.”

 

Shane gave a thumbs up and Ryan went to the kitchen to begin the hunt for his charging phone. Three days until Ryan would meet Shane’s parents in person for the first time and he was more nervous than he should be.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The plane ride went well. They boarded only 30 minutes late and there was little to no turbulence, so Ryan’s nap on Shane’s shoulder didn’t get interrupted until Shane shook him awake. They grabbed their luggage, getting away with only brining carry-on, and disembarked. Once inside the Chicago airport, Shane and Ryan stopped near a wall to wait for Shane’s parents.

 

“My parents say they’re here. You might wanna put on a heavier jacket,” Shane said, looking up from his phone briefly to glance around the airport.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Ryan scoffed. He was already wearing a thin jacket. The walk from the plane into the airport wasn’t too terribly bad, either, just a bit nippy, but nothing Ryan couldn’t handle.

 

Shane looked at Ryan, an amused twitch to his lips, and Ryan frowned. Amused Shane was never good because it mostly involved Ryan suffering. Instead of insisting more, though, Shane just nodded and said, “Whatever you say, buddy.”

 

Ryan narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? You think I can’t handle a little bit of cold?” Ryan was insulted. Sure, he’s never seen snow before, but it’s not like he can’t handle it when he does see it.

 

“No, no-“ Shane waved his hand in the air- “I’m sure you’ll be able to handle below freezing weather. We have nothing to worry about.” Shane was mocking Ryan.

 

Before Ryan could point out how wrong Shane was, two voices were calling their names. They looked over to see Shane’s parents walking toward them.

 

After hugs and greeting and “Oh, it’s so nice to finally meet you!”, Shane’s parents helped them to gather their stuff so it could be taken to the car.

 

Shane’s dad held open the exit door for them to pass through and a gush of cold air hit Ryan right in the face. It made him shiver, but it wasn’t as bad as Shane made it out to be. Ryan could handle this. There were a few clumps of melting snow on the few patches of grass, strengthening Ryan’s resolve.

 

According to Shane’s mom, the car was parked a bit far away, so it would take a about five minutes to get there. Ryan could make it. So what if he could start to feel goosebumps rise on his arms under his jacket? He’d be fine.

 

Ryan huffed out a breath. He could see breath crystalize in the air before disappearing. Oh no.

 

He was able to handle it at first, but the longer he spent in the cold the more he shivered and he knew that Shane noticed. He had to grit his teeth and shoulder the cold, though. He had to prove his point.

 

“Cold there, buddy?” Shane asked, amusement glinting in his eye. Ryan frowned and ignored him.

 

Sadly, Shane’s mom noticed, and Ryan felt his own face flushed in embarrassment and cold.

 

“Oh, Ryan, sweety, are you cold? Shane should’ve told you how cold it can get here. It’s nothing like your California weather,” Shane’s mom tsked. She was a nice woman, if a bit overbearing, but it didn’t make Ryan feel any better.

 

“I’m fine, Mrs. Madej. It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Ryan reassured her. When she turned back to walking to their car, Shane started making kissy faces at him. Instead of hitting his shoulder like he wanted to, Ryan simply whispered, “Shut up,” before adjusting his grip on his suitcase and adjusting his walking speed so he wouldn’t have to look at Shane’s stupid face.

 

* * *

  
  


The warmth of the Madej household was a welcome contrast to the frigid outside. The inside was decorated with warm hues and Christmas knick-knacks. It wasn’t Ryan’s home, but it felt very homey. Shane’s parents sadly had to leave for a few hours after getting back, going last-minute Christmas shopping.

 

Shane sat a cup of hot chocolate down in front of Ryan. Ryan thanked him, the heat seeping from the mug warmed up his hands and the scalding drink warmed up his insides.

 

“I told you so,” Shane said smugly over his own mug. Ryan glared at him but continued to drink gratefully. “Once you’re warm, I can show you the snow,” Shane continued like Ryan wasn’t glaring daggers at him.

 

“Snow?” Ryan asked. He knew what snow was: frozen water. Ryan didn’t see the appeal. It just seems like a wet mess.

 

“Yeah!” Shane said, finally setting down his mug. “Snow’s fun, man. Wet, but fun.”

 

“Don’t say that,” Ryan grimaced at Shane’s choice of wording, Shane simply laughing. “But fine, whatever.”

 

They finished their cocoa and Shane practically dragged Ryan into his room so they could change for “snow romping”, as Shane liked to call it. As soon as Ryan was done zipping up his jacket, feeling much like a marshmallow, Shane dragged him into his parents’ backyard.

 

It had started snowing on the way back from the airport, big fat snowflakes that stuck to the windshield and made Ryan fear they were going to slip and crash. It was still snowing, but the snowflakes were smaller and Ryan had to admit it was kinda beautiful.

 

The cold still stung his face, but the rest of his body was thankfully warm. (“Layers help,” Shane had said while throwing clothes at Ryan to wear.) They stood in the cold for a while, the snow crunching beneath their feet and snowflakes sticking to their hats.

 

“Now what?” Ryan asked.

 

“We play.”

 

Ryan got little to no warning before a ball of snow was thrown into his face by non other than Shane.

 

“Dude, what the fu-“ this time, the snowball found itself in Ryan’s mouth and Ryan was sputtering. The snow was cold, but soft, and melted when Ryan closed his mouth.

 

“C’mon, fight back!” Shane said before lobbing another snowball at Ryan’s chest.

 

Ryan grumbled and leaned down to pack some snow together. He threw it at Shane, hitting him square in the head. Shane blinked through the snow on his face, silent.

 

The laugh came involuntarily, bubbling past his lips before breaking into the cold air. It was fun, funny seeing Shane disheveled and stunned. A grin broke Shane’s face before he leaned down to pack his own snow. Ryan got the message and started building up his own army, too. It wasn’t long until they were in a full-blown snowball fight.

 

Ryan wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but it was fun as hell. His face hurt from the cold and how hard he was smiling. Adrenaline was rushing through his heart from running around the backyard, the thrill of almost being hit with a snowball pounding in his ears. His feet and hands were cold and wet but Ryan didn’t find himself caring.

 

Eventually, all of the snow was either trampled on or sticking to their jackets, and they made the decision to head inside. Shane helped Ryan peel of his layers, laying them out so they could dry next to the door. They changed into dry clothes, but Ryan was still cold.

 

“You know what that means,” Shane’s arms came around to give Ryan a hug.

 

A multitude of things came to Ryan’s mind, some dirtier than others, but instead of voicing them, he simply asked, “What?”

 

Shane spun them around, making Ryan lose his balance, but instead of falling onto the hardwood, they fell of the couch. Shane hugged Ryan tighter and nuzzled his face into Ryan’s neck.

 

“Cuddling,” Shane whispered, the action causing Ryan’s neck to tickle and Ryan laughed, trying to push Shane’s face away.

 

They struggled for a bit before settling again, this time facing each other, Ryan’s arms around Shane’s middle and Shane’s own arms pillowing their heads.

 

“Cheesy,” Ryan said.

 

“Yeah, and you love it,” Shane replied.

 

Ryan couldn’t argue with that, so he decided to kiss Shane instead. Both of their lips were chapped from the cold, but it was still nice. Maybe Ryan could survive the cold as long as he had Shane to warm him up.


End file.
